My Fair Cat
by DxCxS2
Summary: Cat wants people to think she's intelligent after she is called dumb on a date set up by Tori for their Deubtant Ball. Robbie offers to help her, and bets Sikowtiz that by the ball Cat will be an intellectual. Can he do it?
1. I can't teach a fish how to climb!

**I love Cabbie. And so I was possessed with inspiration and decided to write this story! I hope you enjoy it!**

It's the strangest thing when the play you're reading in class has to do with what's going on in your life. I haven't actually read it, I'm just starting…I should have read it, but I was busy….but maybe if I had I wouldn't been in such a mess.

It all started when Tori convinced Cat to be a debutant.

I really shouldn't say convinced, that would imply that there was some sort of difficulty.

"What's a debutant?" Cat asked.

"A girl…" Tori began but before she could continue Cat interjected.

"Like me!" she exclaimed with a laugh. She stopped. "What do they do?"

"A debutant goes to a debutant ball. It's like a cotillion" Tori explained slowly.

"What's a-" Cat started to ask, but Jade looked up from her scissors. She had stopped mid cut, and shot a glare at Tori, before turning to Cat.

"Let me cut this short" she snipped off the top of her water bottle "A debutant is where a bunch of moron girls are dressed up like dolls, learn _proper_ etiquette, dance and prance around little idiots" Jade snapped.

"I love dancing!" Cat exclaimed with a smile. "I want to be a debutant!"

"Perfect" Tori answered "What about you Jade?" Jade rolled her eyes and looked up from her (once)water bottle.

"Did you even listen to my explanation of what a debutant ball is?" she said dryly. Beck chuckled to himself.

"It could be fun" he said to her. She glared at him.

"No" Jade said clearly before turning back to Tori "Why do _you _want to?"

"My parents are making me" Tori answered.

"I think it would be fun to be a debutant" I said. Rex laughed. "Robbie debutants are _girls_"

"He's right" Andre added "They are girls."

"I know that" I answered "But I'm just saying it doesn't seem all that bad"

"There are no boys?" Cat asked. Then she smiled "I get to dance with Tori!" she practically sang with a bright smile on her face.

"No you don't" Jade said with a smirk.

"Why not?" Cat asked, her smile fading.

"You bring a date to dance with" Jade explained, not even bothering to look up anymore as she chopped up the rest of the water bottle.

"Tori!" Cat exclaimed "You have to find a date!" Tori looked offended for a second, but it quickly melted away. I saw Andre smile out of the corner of my eye.

"You have to find a date too" Tori retorted. Cat gasped.

"I have to find a date!"

Rex laughed "Cat, who would want to go with you?"

"Rex that's awful!" I told him, but he just laughed. Cat looked worried, but Tori patted her hand, a smile on her face.

"Not to worry Cat, I know a guy…"

And that's how it all started. That Friday Tori and Cat went on their date. And a few days later, to no surprise it was Monday morning. What was surprising was the fact that I hadn't spoken with Cat. We normally talked on the weekend. Sometimes we called each other, sometimes we video chatted and sometimes we even hung out. I texted her Saturday morning about her date. She didn't respond. I wanted to text her another time, but Rex told me not to. "_Don't look desperate_" he told me.

"Did Cat tell you how their dates went?" Andre asked me on Monday morning.

"No" I said "She didn't tell me" I didn't mention that we hadn't spoken the whole weekend.

"Horribly I bet" Jade said as she walked up. I rolled my eyes. How could Cat's date have gone horribly?

"I don't want to talk about it!" I heard a voice cry, only moments before Cat ran past me as fast as she could, which was pretty fast in her heels.

"Cat I'm sorry!" Tori shouted as she chased after her.

"Told you I was right" Jade mumbled.

The bell rang before I could go see what was happening, but luckily my first class was with Cat, as well as Jade, Tori, and Beck: _Classic Plays. _ I placed Rex in my locker. He pissed off Ms. Ricardo last class, and I figured it was best if he lay low for a while.

I walked in and Cat was already there. She looked as if she was indulged in her book. I pulled out my own copy.

"Did you finish the reading?" I asked thumbing through my book. I hadn't even opened it yet.

"Of course I did!" she snapped "It was quite lovely!" I looked at her curiously as she defensively dove back into _My Fair Lady._

The class started to fill up when Tori ran in. "Cat I've been looking for-"

"I love books" Cat sang over Tori's talking "Love love looove"

"That's nice Miss Valentine" Ms. Ricardo said as she walked into the classroom "Miss Vega could you please take a seat?" her words were polite but her tone was harsh. Tori quickly sat down. Ms. Ricardo's class was one of the only 'formal' classes at Hollywood Arts. She was the opposite of Sikowitz.

"We're going to start with a pop quiz" she said dryly as she passed out paper "On Friday's reading."

I sighed. I knew I should have read.

I wasn't really listening to the questions or focusing on my answers. I was watching Cat from the corner of my eye. She looked distressed. She would scribble something on her paper, and then erase it quickly.

Then suddenly her head crashed on her desk.

Ms. Ricardo stopped mid question. "Miss Valentine please-"

"I'm not stupid!" Cat shouted "I'm not! I'm not! I'm not!" she exclaimed as she ran out of the room.

"Do I really have to get counselor?" she called after Cat. There was no response. Cat was gone. She sighed. "I guess I'll go find them. She looked at the rest of the class. "Don't cheat while I'm gone" she said before leaving.

"So the date did go horribly" Jade said, her words directed at Tori.

"Well…" Tori started, but Jade had no intention of listening.

"What was his name?" Jade asked casually.

"Jake Holly" Tori sighed, but she suddenly became alert. "Why?"

"No reason" Jade said as she sifted through her purse. She turned to Beck. "Where are my scissors?"

"Why?" he asked.

"Because I need them."

"No you don't" he said.

"Yes I do. Give them to-" but Jade stopped, a grin growing on her face. "Never mind" she laughed reaching down into her boot. "Back ups" she said with a smile as she left the room.

"Jade where are you going?" Tori asked, but Jade was gone, with no sign of returning. "Where is she going?" she asked me. She turned to Beck. "Where is she going?"

"You know" Beck answered. Tori's face twisted with fear.

"Jade!" she called as she ran out of the classroom. "Jade! Don't do it!" Beck shook his head.

"Where _is _she going?" I asked Beck. I thought I knew, but asking questions never hurt anybody.

"Cat and Jade have been friends since preschool" Beck retorted "Jade is territorial. Cat is upset. Add it up." Beck was about to get up to help Tori when Ms. Ricardo entered the room. Beck sat back down.

"Good no cheating" she mused as she walked to her seat. I threw my arm into the air. "Yes Mr. Shapiro. I see you didn't bring Rex today" she smiled.

"I need to pee" I said.

"That's nice"

"Can I go?"

"Can you?" she shot. I sighed.

"May I?" I asked. She nodded. Quickly I ran out of the question. Beck seemed to be somewhat at ease. But I wasn't going after Jade and Tori.

"Cat?" I called. "Cat?" I looked through the halls and the classrooms, but I found her outside. She was sitting on a bench, next to a bush. She was crying.

"Cat what's wrong?" I asked as I sat down next to her.

"I'm stupid" she managed to say through her sobs. I tried to pat her gently, to comfort her, but it was mostly awkward.

"You aren't stupid" I tried to say it convincingly.

"Jake thinks I am" she said, and her crying became louder. She attempted to choke it back but it didn't work.

"Who says Jake knows anything?" I pressed.

"Jake's a genius- he knows everything. And he knows I'm not a genius… He knows I'm stupid" she started to cry more quietly, but the tears had double. I rocked awkwardly with my arm around her.

"I think you're smart" I said, hoping my opinion meant something.

"No I'm not!" she bawled.

"There are tons of different types of smart. You know what Einstein said?" I asked. She stop crying for a minute and looked up. "_If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid."_

She stared at me, and for a moment, I thought it had worked. "I can't teach a fish how to climb a tree!" she exclaimed before falling back into tears. "I just want to be smart!"

"You are smart!" I insisted.

"I want to be his kind of smart! The quite, and indifferent, and poppycock kind of smart!" she said in one breath.

"Poppycock?" I mumbled to myself.

"I want to be the you kind of smart!"

"Me?" I said unconsciously. That was when Lane showed up.

"Cat?" he said softly "Ms. Ricardo wanted me to come talk to you." She continued to cry. "Do you want to come and talk about it with me?" She nodded.

"Sorry Robbie" she mumbled through heavy breathes as she left. I sat alone on the bench. Wishing I could help Cat.

"With just a little help, she could show that jerk just how smart she is…" I said to myself underneath my breath.

Then there was a cackle. I looked around, but I saw no one.

"No one will ever think that Cat is smart" I heard a voice say.

"Who is that!" I demanded. There was no response. "Please?"

"It's me" Sikowitz shouted as he climbed out of the bushes.

"Have you been there the whole time?" I asked, feeling a bit taken a back.

"Of course I have. The milk gives me great nightmares" he said "But to the point, you couldn't make anyone think Cat was smart."

"Yes I could. She could be smart!" I argued. Sikowitz scoffed.

"And Jade could be kind…" he mumbled "Why does she want to be smart?"

"She had a date with a guy she wanted to take to her debutant ball, and he called her dumb, or something like that" I explained, feeling more down as I did so.

"When is this debutant ball?" Sikowitz asked.

"In like two months." I replied.

"And you really think Cat can be smart?"

"I'm positive, but why?"

"I bet you, that even with two months preparations and a room full of glittery debutant strangers that you cannot make Cat appear smart. If you do I'll give you an A in my class"

"You can't use grades for gambling" I retorted.

"And I can't ride a hippo either. But I did it. Sandals are never a good choice." Sikowitz started to drift off, but he came back "I'll give you an A, but if you don't I will take Rex."

"You can't do that!"

"I thought you were positive?" he questioned, a crazy smile on his face.

"I am!" I shot back.

"Then do it" Sikowtiz pushed "Take the bet."

**This was fun! For those of you who are going to complain, My Fair Lady inspired the story, the story isn't based on My Fair Lady, but I hope you enjoyed! Comment! Say what you think!**


	2. I love acting!

So that day after school I biked over to Cat's house. I would have rather spoken to het at school, but she hadn't come back after school. I had always felt uncomfortable going to her house. It wasn't different than going to Tori's house, or even hiding in Tori's bush. For some reason it made me nervous to go to her house. I decided I was going to leave Rex in my bike's basket.

It was down in Hancock Park, a nice area. I parked my bike in her drive way. There were no cars, so I knew her parents weren't home. But was her brother? This was all a stupid idea. What had I even been saying to Sikowitz?

But for some reason, something, I don't know, but something made me knock on her door. I wasn't sure to who to expect- not her parents? Her brother maybe. I stood there for a moment. And then the door opened.

Jade was standing at the door. "What do you want?" she said, not even bothering to open the door all the way.

"Why are you here Jade?" I blurted out. I couldn't help but ask. She seemed so out of place.

"What do you want" she repeated.

"I-_ I stammered for a moment. Jade kind of scared me, but I wrestled down my fear "I came here to see Cat."

"And?" Her glare bore through me.

"I wanted to talk to her…" I tried to put it right "in relation to her date."

"She doesn't want to talk about it" she said as she went to shut the door on me. Something, I don't know what, possessed me to stop the door with my hand. I wasn't strong, but the action was enough to stop her.

"I don't want to talk about it." I said clearly. It was true. I didn't. I just wanted to see her. It was all too strange, her sadness, Jade, everything. I had almost forgotten what I was coming to talk about.

"You just said you did."

"Well I don't want to talk about the event" I explained.

"You don't?" Jade said, a hint of surprise in her voice, but none shone in her face. "Isn't that nice."

"Jade" I started "I just would please like to see Cat." She glared at me for a minute.

"Do you have Rex?"

"Not here." This time Jade slammed the door shut, which wasn't the response I was used to getting when I said that I _didn't _have Rex. I stood there for a moment, thinking it all out. I was about to turn around and leave, try again later.

That's when the door swung open again.

"Come on in" Jade said with an eerie smile. She lifted her scissors up next to her face and snipped them twice.

I walked into the house and she shut the door behind me. "I thought Tori took those from you." She smirked.

"I keep a third pair in my car" she said as she tucked them into her pocket. "Just in case I need it."

"Hi Robbie" said a soft voice. I turned to see Cat. Her eyes weren't as puffy as when she was crying. She seemed a bit more calm. Like she felt safe. "Sorry about earlier." Suddenly there was a loud bang. There were a few more as if someone was throwing themselves against the wall, but Cat and Jade weren't panicking.

"Patra?" Jade asked.

"Well, my brother's not here to watch-" Cat started, but Jade quickly cut her off.

"I've got it" she said heading upstairs.

"Patra?" I asked.

"Patra is my brother's cat" she laughed "My name is Cat."

"So you're feeling better?" I asked. She looked it. Maybe she just needed time to pull away. She nodded energetically and led me to her couch.

"I am" she said with a smile, but then she became serious. "Sorry Jade can be scary sometimes."

"Oh I know that" I answered waving my hand in the air as if to wave it off.

She shook her head. "No _real_ scary. Not normal scary." She paused as if confused for a moment. "Where is Rex?"

"Outside" I said "I didn't think he'd help out right now…" I tried to pick out my words carefully, think of what I would say next before I said it.

"Help with what?" she asked.

"You were upset yesterday…" I tread carefully "About some stuff that guy said, and I just…" I took a deep breath "Are you seeing him again?"

Cat let out a heavy breath "I might have to, at the ball…"

"You're still going?" a voice demanded from behind us. It was Jade.

"I promised Tori…"

"So?" Jade snapped.

"I can't let him think he won…I don't want anyone to think I'm stupid" she argued, and Jade pulled back. It was my opening. My perfect spot.

"I can help you" I said. Both of the girls turn to look at me. Cat's brown eyes sat heavily on me. "What if I tutored you?"

"Tooted me?" Cat gasped. "Toot?"

"No, what if I worked with you, so that by the time of the debutante ball everyone could really see how smart you are" I said carefully. Her eyes lit up. Jade, on the other hand, was looking skeptically at me over Cat's shoulder.

"Really?" she said full of excitement "You'd help me?"

"Help her what exactly?" Jade questioned, sitting on the arm of the couch.

"Show people how smart she really is" I answered, but Jade raised her eyebrow. It was a skeptical look. "I mean half of people thinking you're smart, is acting the part"

"I love acting!" Cat exclaimed. She seemed happier already. Her smile was so warm, so genuine. "When do we start?"


	3. Dead people can't have sons!

**Another chapter! I hope you like it! Please review!**

We decided to work that Thursday, at my house. I had been preparing the night before, but what did I know? I was hoping Sikowitz was joking about the bet. That I had never made it, but I did. And now I was stuck. I left Rex locked in my room. I had a pile of my grade school books. I decided we'd do a brief over view of history, and then maybe cover some science, and start in on literature. I have to say the plan was…well I thought it'd go easier.

"So George Washington was elected in the 70's?" Cat asked as we attempted to cover the American Revolution.

"No he wasn't even alive then, he was around in the 1700s" I explained but she looked up perplexed.

"Then how old was he when George Bush was born?" she asked.

"He was dead."

"But dead people can't have sons!" she exclaimed.

"What?" I snapped, not rudely, but now she had lost me.

"Isn't he George Bush's dad?" she asked.

"No" I said calmly. I didn't want to upset her. "George Bush is George Bush's dad"

Then she shouted at me "What? How?"

"He named his son after himself."

"Did George Washington name George Bush after himself?"

"No! No, no, no!" I said. "There is no relation between the George Bushes and George Washington!"

"Then how did he become King?" she shouted.

"There are no kings anymore!" I told her "After the revolution we became a Democracy! We elect our presidents!"

"Oh I forgot" she said, a sadness in her eyes.

"Look I'm sorry" I started. I really was. This wasn't as easy as I intended, but now I didn't only have Sikowitz's bet to worry about, Cat was relying on me. She wanted this to work out.

"Don't be!" she exclaimed "It's really nice that your helping me, I mean…not everyone would so this. People get frustrated with me…a lot. It's weird not everyone knows how nice you are."

"I'm not that nice" I said, because I wasn't. I mean it all started with a bet. "I'm just overviewing stuff. And I'm not even that good at it."

"No," she insisted "You're great! There are tree George's and they were all elected, and there were Mongols in China, and a man landed on the moon-"

"We haven't gotten there yet-" I tried to say but she kept going.

"And the Nile is upside down, and Newton filled a bathtub, and Columbus sailed around and killed people, and then there were the Romans, and they had an empire, and everyone took baths in the same place!" she let out in one breath. "See!" she shouted with a nervous smile "Learning!"

I laughed. She was so nice, even when she was struggling. "You are way better at teaching than Mrs. Brown" she told me.

"Mrs. Brown?" I asked.

"Jade and my second grade teacher" she answered.

"You and Jade went to school together?" She nodded.

"Catholic School!" she sang. I chuckled.

"Jade went to Catholic school?"

"We did! And Preschool!" she smiled, as if remembering.

"How did you and Jade- you know…" I paused "Become friends?"

She laughed. "We were four. Everyone was afraid of Jade. She had just gotten really into scissors" she drifted for a moment, but then she came back "Anyways, I liked to sit and talk to Jade. She didn't talk though. She just cut things up, and I talked. I wasn't sure if we were friends, but I didn't have any, and well-" she smiled sadly "I liked to pretend. One day this boy was being mean to me- He called me freak and I started to cry. I wasn't mean to anybody. I never hurt anybody. I was just weird.

So Jade came up and she punched him in the mouth. His tooth fell out and we had to go to the Principal. Jade was almost expelled but- they…" she paused, choosing her words carefully "She wasn't expelled, and we just became friends more and more." She smiled.

"I guess the most important thing I learned there…" she stopped, and then lifted up two of her fingers. "Were two things. You don't judge anybody, and you gotta love everybody. I never forgot it" she said shaking her head.

There was something intimate about what she was telling me. Personal was the word. It was a little window in her mind. Into how she thought. How she saw the world, and what was important to her. Why she was who she was.

"I love everybody!" she continued "I love Jade, I love Tori, I love Beck, I love Andre, and I love you!"

A chill went down my spine when she said it. I didn't know why, but it ran over me when she said she loved me. I knew it was in a line of 'I love's but it hit me. Harder than I ever would have expected, but I ignored it. That chill. She stopped and looked at me with her airy smile and I felt my stomach flip.

She put her hand on my thigh. "Thank you again. This means a lot." The chill returned again.

"So should we start again?" I said pulling away and grabbing the American history book we had been using.

_And I love you!_

I wasn't used to that. I wasn't even used to someone saying they liked me. I got tolerated sometimes thought. But it wasn't just what she has said, it was that she had said it.

"Okay!" she said her eyes fixed with determination "Was Los Angeles loyalist?" She giggled. "Loyalist Los Angeles-t. It almost rhymes!"


	4. I introduced mom and dad!

**Response to a review: She did swallow Jade's house key once… Haha when I was five I often mixed up the 1700s with the 70s…so that's just a little look at my brain as a child. It was less about 'Cat is dumb' but it was more about 'Cat is mixing everything up- dates and names and such.**

**But thanks for the review! I'm glad you like it! I'm trying to keep it somewhat believable. **

"Xenophobia" I said. She glared at the flashcard.

We were at her house today. Today being Wednesday. We were sitting in her kitchen. I hadn't heard from her brother's cat, or seen her brother yet. I was a bit wary, but I didn't want Cat to know that. She was having too good of a time.

I was trying now less to teach her everything and just trying to teach her bits and pieces of things. Today we were focusing on good words to know.

"Phobia is fear" she said, her voice rising as if she was asking me a question. I gave her a thumbs up. She giggled with excitement, but she stopped and focused again. "And xeno is….fear of xylophones." I shook my head and she stomped her feet.

"It means fear of strangers" I told her.

"How will I remember that?" she asked, burying her face in her hands.

"Um…" I thought for a moment "X is a weird letter right? It's like a stranger to words." She looked up, her face brightening.

"X is a stranger!" she cried with a big smile. "Xenophobia! Fear of strangers!"

I clapped for her. "So now I'm going to mix some new cards in with the old ones" I picked up a new stack. "Are you ready Cat Valentine?" She liked it more when I acted like it was all a game.

"I'm Cat Valentine!" she giggled. She was so happy.

"You sure are!" I picked up the first card. "Exigent"

"Urgent- like quickly! I need a doctor because a tiger has eaten my hand! It's exigent!"

"Fulminate."

"To attack! Like Jade's fulminates everything Tori says!" Her eyes were filled with excitement. She learned better when it was fun for her.

"Dissemble!"

"To mislead! Um" she paused "Trina likes to dissemble people to get what she wants!"

"Ten points!" I exclaimed.

"I love points!" she cried.

"Oh! It's new one! Are you ready Miss Valentine?" She shook in her seat. I wanted to get her energy up. We normally went through ways to remember new words, and I didn't want her to be upset.

"I'm ready!"

"Ubiquitous!"

Her smile grew even bigger "Being everywhere at the same time!" She laughed "It was in the name of Jade's film!" I knew most of the films she made at Hollywood Arts. I raised my eyebrow.

"Which one?"

"The first real one. _The Ubiquitous_ It was about a couple who were haunted everywhere, and then they went mad and killed each other with spoons " she explained in a cheery manner, unaware of how vague she was being, or how disturbing the story was.

"Real one?"

"Well it had more actors than me" she explained "See in eighth grade my parents put me in an acting class. Beck was in the acting class and he was a really good actor, and Jade really wanted to make her movie, so I asked Beck to do it- and he said maybe, so I brought him and-

"You introduced Beck and Jade?" I interrupted. She gasped.

"I introduced mom and dad!" she exclaimed. It was always weird to me how she referred to them as 'mom' and 'dad'. I guess it showed how close Jade was to her. I never asked. Never felt the need to. The more we talked I realized that her and Jade were really _really _good friends. It was weird to think of them as friends, seeing as they were polar opposites.

"So did how was Jade's first film?" I asked, momentarily forgetting about the flashcards.

"Oh! I know!" she shouted leaping up from her chair. She ran out of the kitchen, leaving me alone. I glanced around uncomfortably. A few moments later she was back, holding a DVD in her hand. "It's right here!" she shouted. "In my hand!"

"You have it?"

She nodded. "Want to watch it? It's not very long."

"Sure" I said, and before I knew it I was sitting on her couch, alone. She was making popcorn. _I love popcorn!_ she had claimed before she left. After about 3 minutes she put a large bowl of popcorn on my lap.

"Popcorn popcorn popcorn" she sang as she inserted the DVD and sat down next to me. She left the popcorn on my lap. She was sitting close to me. So close to me.

I could smell her. She smelled like soap, but not like dirty bathroom hand soap. Like nice soap, scented soap. And butter. Of course her hands were all buttery from eating handfuls of butter. The movie had barley started and she was a quarter of the way done with the bowl.

The movie was disturbing to say the least, but that wasn't my main focus. I was sitting so close to Cat. I could feel her breathing. She was practically leaning against me. Now I like being close to girls, and I like touching girls as odd as it may sound, but this was different. It was like there was an electricity with every touch, every breath, a current, a chill I couldn't explain. And as much as it made me feel sick, it made me feel happy. Like a happy sick. I was twisted up and confused. But I ignored it.

I tried to pay attention to the movie, just so I could get her out of my head, her arm against mine. Against mine! On screen Cat was trying to help Beck who was panicking on the ground, covered in blood. Her hair was brown there. It looked so different, it was strange, disorienting to see her on screen, covered in blood, with brown hair, crying. The crying was the worst part. I knew it was fake, but it made me so…so unhappy.

I reached into the bowl for popcorn and her hand grazed over mine. I froze. She looked up at me and giggled before reaching in a different spot for her popcorn. My hand was tingling for the rest of the movie. The movie ended with Cat and Beck killing each other with spoons by jabbing each other repeatedly. I should have been more disturbed than I was, but- but Cat had just touched my hand and I felt- weird.

When the movie was over we went back to flashcards. I was about to leave, when Cat stopped me. I stood in her front yard after she had asked me to wait.

"I forgot!" she cried as she ran out to meet me "I was wondering if you wanted to come pick out dresses with us on Friday?"

"Why?" I asked. I certainly didn't need a dress.

"Because you've been helping me so much for the ball. It could be fun, and we could get ice cream…" her voice faltered as if now she was unsure of what she was asking.

"It sounds fun." I said, and she lit up. "I'll be there."

She clapped her hands together! "Yay! You can help me pick out something _sophisticated._"

**I hope you like it! Please comment and review!**


	5. I love bunnies!

**NEW CHAPTERS ALL WEEK- Just kidding I don't know. As often as possible. I hope you guys like it! I'm loving the reviews! Keep'm coming!**

After classes we all headed to Jade's car. She was going to drive us. Apparently she had decided to be a debutante. Beck was smirking as Jade angrily marched to her car. He was happy about it.

I was about to get in when Jade stopped me.

"Rex goes in the back" she said.

"Jade don't be a gank" Rex said. She glared at him then me.

"We don't need a slip up like that when we're there" she snapped, ripping him off my hand. She tossed him in her trunk and slammed it shut.

"Okay" I said after it was all over. I got in the car, Cat squished into the middle. She look uncomfortable.

"Tori" Jade said from the front seat "Bitch seat" She pointed to the middle seat with her thumb. Beck gave Jade a look.

"What?" she demanded. Beck said nothing, but just kept looking at her. She grunted "But Cat hates the-"

"I don't hate the-" Cat began, but Jade cut her off.

"Don't lie!"

"Okay" she said.

"Jade" Beck said "It's good to practice being nice." Jade glared at him. "Jade"

"Fine" she groaned "Robbie, bitch seat."

"That's not being nice" Tori complained "That's just directing your mean.." she struggled for a moment "-ness."

Jade glared at Tori through a rear view mirror. A few minutes went by and I knew what was going to happen.

Tori got out the car and went to the other side, Cat scooted down one, and I took a seat in the middle. I saw the flash of Jade's smile in the rear view mirror. "Baby steps" Beck said underneath his breath.

We ended up going to Melrose and walking from shop to shop trying on dresses. Tori and Jade went through tons of dresses, in and out of the dressing rooms. They would go in and out, pikcing out a new one, only bringing in a few at a time and trying the on. Cat liked to take her time, looking through every dress, and then proceeding to pick up every single dress in the store. When the manager said she wasn't allowed to bring thirty two dresses into dressing room I walked back with her. We put them back in order of length.

Cat decided she wanted a long dress so first we eliminated all the short dresses, finding their places and putting them back. Then she decided she didn't want a dress with rhinestones and or sequins, so I helped her put back all of the sequin and or rhinestone dresses. Lastly Cat decided she wanted a bright dress, so all of the black, dark blue, dark purple, brown, and grey dresses were put back.

When she was finally ready to try on the dresses I sat down next to Beck and waited. He seemed rather relaxed as he sat in the cushiony leather chair next to me in the dressing room.

Tori came out. She was wearing a short dark green dress that showed off her legs. She bounced out of the room.

"Beck, how does this look?" Tori asked.

"How about you stop asking my boyfriend?" Jade snapped from behind a door.

"It's looks great" Beck began "I just don't like the spaghetti straps."

"I'm sure it looks awful" Jade shouted "Why do you keep asking my boyfriend?"

"I have no one else to ask!" Tori shouted back.

"I'm here" I amended her statement.

"Don't take offense at what I'm about to say" Tori said to me before turning to the closed door. "I have no one who's opinion I trust to ask!"

"Why didn't you bring Andre?" Jade shouted in response, still in her room.

"Why do you keep shouting?" Tori retorted.

"Because I can't get this dress on!" she shouted. The clerk glanced down to our end of the room. Beck turned to Tori.

"Why didn't you ask Andre to come?" he asked. Tori shrugged.

"I don't know" she said.

"Or off!" Jade shouted. There was a loud bang.

"I see," Andre said "Jade do you need help?"

Tori went to open Jade's door. "Here I'll help you-"

"No!" Jade shouted. Tori shut the door.

"Do you want me to come in?" Beck asked.

"Yes!" she snapped as Tori reentered her own room.

"What's the magic word?" There was a pause.

"Please" Jade asked.

"I'm coming in" Beck said as he opened her dressing room door and slipped in the door shutting quietly behind him.

Another door swung open and Cat emerged.

"I'm dressed!" she sang. It was her first dress and it was perfect. She looked beautiful. It was a strapless peachy dress the fell to the floor. There was a light darker peachy lace over the fabric. She smiled at me.

"How does it look?" she asked.

"It looks beautiful on you" I said. She lit up.

"Really Robbie?" she asked. "Really Robbie?" she sang.

"Really" I told her. It was long though, down to the floor long. "Can you walk in it?"

"I am walking!" she said coming closer. "Why?"

"Because" I started "You're going to have to dance in it"

"I forgot!" Cat exclaimed. "I love dancing" she came ever closer, and then she put her hands on the back of my neck. "Like this!" she swayed gently, her arms around my neck. I stood their awkwardly. "Not put your hands here" she grabbed my hands and placed them on her sides. We swayed there. I was holding her. I was _holding _her, my hands were on her waste, and our faces, our faces were so close. Her hands were on the back of my neck and she was swinging gently to the store's music.

"_Maybe I think you're cute and funny, maybe I wanna do what bunnies do with you if you know what I mean"_ she sang lightly as we spun in slow circles. She sang beautifully, and she just was so hapy, so wonderful, she was like sunshine. Then she added in her own words "_Eat lots of carrots"_ I was pretty sure she didn't know what bunnies did, but she kept singing. I wanted to kiss her. I knew then I wanted to kiss her so badly. I heard a door open and suddenly I fell backwards, and the world went spinning. I had fallen backwards over a chair.

"Spaz" Jade said. Cat looked worried as I got up.

"What happened?" Tori said emerging from her room. That's when Cat turned around. Tori's face lit up.

"You look amazing!" she cried. Cat giggled, and turned to Jade.

"Get that one" Jade said.

"Okay!" Cat giggled.

Afterwards we went to get sushi and Andre met up with us. It was getting late when we were heading back to Jade's car. Andre had offered to take Tori home, so it was only the four of us. Jade and Beck were already across the street getting into the car when Cat was still standing on the other side.

"There's no light" she said.

"You crossed earlier and there was no light." I explained hoping to calm her down. She shook her head.

"It was daytime" she argued nervously. "And it's scary now." We stood there. I wasn't going to leave her on this side by herself. She put out her hand. I didn't know what to do. My heart was racing. "Please take it" she asked. I couldn't deny her. I reached out and took her hand. It was like electricity running through me. She took in a deep breath, and we walked across the lightless residential street.

We got into the car and Cat and I slipped into the back.

"Robbie there's no need for you to sit in the bitch seat" Jade said. Beck gave her a nod of approval and she grimaced. I went to move, but I didn't want to, I liked sitting next to Cat, being close to her. Her hand lay where I had sat. We had been holding hands earlier, her thin fingers had been laced through mine for moments at a time.

I wanted to take her hand again. To hold it. But I ignored it. When we got to Cat's house she gave me a worried look.

"Robbie how are you getting home?" she asked before she got out.

"We'll take him home" Beck said. "Don't worry about it."

She became relieved. "Okay." She said as she got out of the car and shut the door.

"Robbie!" Jade snapped "Walk her to her door!"

"Oh right!" I said as I stumbled out of the car. We walked up to her door together. It was dark, but I could see her smile.

"Robbie" she started "I don't know if I've told you this, but I really care about you. You're really special to me. That song, makes me think of you- _I wanna do what bunnies do with you and eat lots of carrots all day"_ she sang as we reached her door. "I love bunnies" she said.

"Bunnies are great" I said. She fussed with her keys again. She found the right one and put it in the lock. "Cat" I said. She stopped. "You're really special to me to. I feel like –" I paused, thinking of the right words "You accept me."

"I feel the same way" she giggled. "Good night!" she shut the door and I walked back to Jade's car. Bunnies. I chuckled to myself.

**So it's a real song- It's called You and I (by Ingrid Michealson) Cat knows all the words, even though she doesn't get the innuendo. Look it up it's SO GOOD.**


	6. Apples don't dance!

**New chapter! Oh so much happiness. I hope you guys like this! I love all the reviews! Gimme gimmee more gimmee moree**

We were sitting at lunch when Tori brought it up. I was stabbing a carrot in my salad quite cheerily until she did.

"Have you found a date yet?" Tori asked Cat. Cat shook her head.

"Not yet, but I'm thinking about someone" she giggled. "What about you?" she said in a worried tone. Tori looked up at her with a bit of annoyance. Who was she thinking of? That's when it started to gnaw at my stomach. She hadn't mentioned anyone.

"Yeah Tori," Jade smirked "What about you?"

"I'm working on it" Tori answered.

"So you don't have a date?" Jade demanded. Andre shifted awkwardly.

"Not yet" Tori replied. Jade didn't say anything, she just grinned mischievously. "What?" Tori snapped. Jade didn't respond, but shook her head as she took a bite of her pasta. "Why is it a problem that I don't have a date, but it's not a problem that Cat doesn't!"

Cat looked a bit wary, but she became distracted by the picture of a dancing an apple on her juice. "Apples don't dance!" she mumbled underneath her giggles. No one else paid that any attention though.

"Well, Cat is thinking of someone" Jade explained "While you, in comparison, are thinking of no one."

"It's not like that someone will go with her!" Rex laughed. That's when Cat looked up. She looked upset.

"What's the supposed to mean!" she shouted.

"Rex shut up." I told him, it was strange. Normally I wouldn't have contested him so aggressively, but lately, I felt like I had needed him less and less. "Whoever Cat asks will be luck to go with her, and there's no doubt that they'll say yes. Anyone would say yes to Cat!"

"Think what you want" Rex said, but I didn't answer him. I wanted to tear him off my hand, but I ignored it. I shouldn't have ignored it. I shouldn't have ignored anything, but I'd gotten so used to ignoring things. Ever since my parents got divorced, and Rex came around, ignoring things became natural.

"Does the puppet wanna be scrapped?" Jade asked. Rex gulped. "Thought so"

"I know a someone Tori could ask" Beck said. Jade glared at him and he whispered in her ear. Her face lit up.

"That'd work. It'd be funny at the least- Probably painfully awkward at first" she said to Beck.

"Who?" Tori asked. "Who? Who?"

"He just said if you dressed up real pretty you could get Synjin to go with you." Jade told her. Tori glared at her.

"That's not what he said" Tori argued "You guys!" she whined.

"Bite me" Jade replied.

Later that week Cat and I were working together. We'd gone through core things, she'd expanded her vocabulary, had a basic timeline of the world, memorized 20 entirely different random facts and even knew notable books and films. We were on a roll. Today we were working on how to present them. Posture was easy. The way she held her head- simple. The hardest part was her tone

"Cat listen to me talk" I said raising my voice an octave on the last word "Do you hear that?" I did it again. She nodded.

"You're voice goes up" she answered

"Good. Well you do that almost every other sentence" I told her. She looked at me very seriously. "You are only supposed to do that when you ask a question."

"I am?" she asked.

"Yes!" I said pointing to my nose "Just like that! When your voice doesn't go up people assume you know what you are talking about even if you don't. When your voice does go up people assume you don't know what you are talking about even if you do." She nodded seriously.

"Let's try" I said.

"Lobsters can't be grown with potatoes" she said, her voice lifting up.

"See that sounds like a question" I explained.

"Lobsters can't be grown with potatoes" she said, her voices sure. "The rain in Spain stays neatly on the plain."

"Yes!" I exclaimed "By George I think she's got it!"

"The world is round." She started "Dodo birds are extinct. Jane Austen wrote Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and Emma. North America and South America are two continents. Bunnies like carrots. George Washington and George Bush are not related!"

"Perfect!" I told her. And it was. She was. She smiled, bouncing in her seat.

"Robbie, will you be my debutante date?"

"And back to the question tone!" I said "See how it seems like you're unsure?"

"No" Cat said steadily "Will you be my date for the debutante ball?"

"What?"

"Will you be my date for the debutante ball?" she asked again.

It all happened to fast. I need to change everything. Everything. "Yes" I said "I'd love to"


	7. You dissembled me!

**Thank you for all of the awesome reviews! I hope you guys enjoy this…or not. I don't know what I'm saying. Foolish of me, isn't it? Please review! SHANKS FRENZZ**

I was skyrocketing all weekend. Cat had asked me to be her date. The whole thought was surreal. And I…I felt something for her. It wasn't the same as other girls…well other girls being girls I tried to ask out or followed or around or thought I felt something with. It was like, I didn't just think she was pretty, and that she smelled nice, and I liked being around her. I cared about her a lot. I didn't want anyone to hurt her.

We had gone out on Sunday to pick out a tie to match her dress. Something of the light peach variety. My parents had told me it was very important to have a tie that matched her dress, so I had called Cat that morning. She was excited to go. I left Rex at home. He was still there, but he wasn't as important to me. He was like a crutch I didn't need anymore.

"Robbie" Cat said as she lifted a tie to my chest "I'm really happy all of this happened." She lifted up another. "Oh! I like this one!" she said. When we waited in line Cat leaned against me a little bit as she hummed. I recognized the song, the one about the bunnies. And nice sweaters. And teaching people how to dance. You and I.

"You and I" she started "We're like matchies." She turned around and smiled at me as we moved up in line.

"Yeah" I answered "Same color!" I pointed to the tie but she shook her head.

"Not like that" she said "I feel like, we're both… the odd ones, and it helps us understand each other. I used to feel alone sometimes, but now…I don't." She was serious, and I knew what she meant. I felt it too.

And in a moment, I realized that I wanted to be with her. And in the next I realized what I had done to her.

I ran into Sikowitz's room before class on Monday morning. "What are you doing Robbie?" Rex demanded as I swung open the door and walked into his room. I bent over for a second to recuperate.

"Ah, Robbie" Sikowitz said "And Rex! So glad to have you here. Only a week until the debutante ball" he smiled mischievously, as I sucked in more air. He sipped his coconut.

"Sikowitz" I said "I need to call off the bet. I can't do it" Sikowitz laughed.

"There's no calling off the bet Robbie. You made a bet. That's how it works. You lose" he scoffed "I know you couldn't make Cat seem smart."

"Cat is smart!" I snapped. "That's not why I'm canceling the bet."

"Robbie," Sikowitz begins "I'm an acting teacher, and you are not a very good actor. You've got to put some passion into it if you ever want me to believe you."

"I'm not joking, I can't treat Cat like some means to an end. I should have never bet on her" I explained.

"It's better, but I still don't see the why. You can't just say something, you've got to believe in it" Sikowitz said, sitting down on a desk.

"I'm not acting!" I argued. "I think…"

"Yes" Sikowitz said.

"I think…"

"Yes"

"I think I love Cat" I said.

Sikowitz busted out laughing. "And that was the worst part."

"I'm not acting" I retorted. "I'm telling you the truth. I can't go through with this bet."

"Robbie if that was acting, I absolutely hated the 'I love Cat' part. Completely unbelievable. But let's throw aside what's bad acting, and what's not acting, and what is. You made a bet. That doesn't change. If you'd like to withdraw I'll take Rex, and give you an F and it will all be done."

"What!" Rex snapped. "You bet me? You didn't tell me you bet _me!"_ he scolded. "You are not giving me to this crazy fool! Sikowitz, this is JANK. I want to hear the terms again!"

"Why?" I asked him.

"Because unlike you, I'm _not_ stupid" Rex retorted. "I'm going to find a loophole."

Sikowitz turned around, yanking out a rolling chalkboard. "Old friend" he whispered to it. "Now!" he shouted picking up a piece of chalk. "Here are the facts" he explained as he proceeded to write facts at the top of the chalk board.

"After Cat cried by the shrubs-"

"They were bushes" I interjected.

"Fine" he scratched out shrubs and wrote bushes "After Cat cried by the bushes, Robbie and I made a bet. I claimed that Robbie would not be able to make Cat appear to be intelligent by the debutante ball. Robbie said he could do it-"

"That's not what I meant" I explained, but Sikowitz ignored me.

"So we bet. I said I'd give him and A if he could do it. If he couldn't though he'd have to give me Rex-um- you I mean."

"You bet this" Rex roared "FOR AN A IN A CLASS YOU ALREADY HAVE A B IN."

"It wasn't like that!" I argued.

"It doesn't matter what is was _like. _It matters what it is!" That's when I heard a whimper. At first I thought it was myself, but I didn't whimper. I turned around to see Cat and Tori behind me. In the arguing, I hadn't even heard the door open. Cat's eyes were to the brim with tears.

"Cat" I breathed "Let me-" but she flipped around and ran. I went to run after her, but Jade was walking through the door and I ran into her. She stepped back, and assessed the situation. It didn't take long, because Sikowitz had written out the important parts on the chalkboard. Stupid chalkboard.

"You" Jade said darkly. That's when I whimpered. Tori was shocked. Jade was fuming, so as fast as I could, I slipped around her, and chased down Cat. She was running up the empty stairs.

"Cat!" I called "Cat stop." I grabbed her arm to stop her, but she yanked away.

"No!" she cried. "No! No! No!" She blinked back tears. "I thought you cared about me. I thought you wanted to help me! But instead you….you… you… dissembled me! I was just part of a bet! And just because I'm stupid. You used me because I'm not some.. . smart person!"

"Cat it wasn't like that!" I shouted.

"What was it like?" she snapped. "Tell me now, because it's, it's….it's exigent!"

"I was just being stupid…It's just I knew you were smart, and I wanted to-"

"No!" Cat cried. "I can't trust you! How do I know you aren't! aren't! Fulminating me with lies right now!"

"I didn't think it would- I thought…"

"I can't do this" she cried as she turned up the stairs and ran away from me in tears.

I never wanted anyone to hurt her, and yet, yet I had hurt her.


End file.
